Container.



N. E. VANCE.

CONTAINER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 26. IEIEI. 19 6?37l?n Patented May 28, 1918.

Jrzuerzfar f/e LuZbn/ E Mace NEWTON E. VANCE, or RED OAK, IOWA.

' CONTAINER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

7 Patented May 28, 1918.

Continuation and substitute of Serial No. 737,135, filed December 6, 1912. This application filed March 26,

1915. Seria1No.17,159. I e

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NEWTON E. VANCE, a citizen of the United States, residing in Red Oak, in the county of Montgomery and State of Iowa, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Containers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates in general to con- 1 tion is a substitute and continuation.

Cracker and biscuit cans or boxes'are frequently provided with a front wall consisting in particular of a pane or sheet of glass behind which the content of the can may be viewed. This glass, unless very thick, is readily broken in transit or in the handling of the container during the selling of the contents. Containers of this sort are packed at the bakery and shipped in packed condition to the grocer or dealer, sometimes passing through the hands of wholesalers. If the glass breaks in a container of this sort there is considerable danger of small pieces or fragments of glass becoming mixed with the contents and thereby requiring repacking of the box or container or providing a source of danger to the purchasers.

A principal object of this invention is the provision of a container in which the glass for the inset or window may be separately shipped and positioned by the grocer or retailer when the box is placed upon the counter or shelf, the parts of the container being so constructed and arranged that a nonbreakable substitute for the pane of glass may be provided until such time as a transparent insert or window is required.

A further object of the invention is the provision of such a container which may be cheaply provided and easily manipulated, the substitute and the pane of glass being interchangeable after the container or box is packed and without disturbing its contents.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as it is better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the ac- For the purpose of illustrating my invention I have shown it embodied in a cracker can generally designated at A, of well known or preferred form and general construction. In the present instance the front wall 6 is provided with a depressed portion 7 for the reception of a name plate and with an aperture 8 behind which the inset or window or its substitute is located.

Combined guides and retaining devices 9 and 10 are provided above and beneath the aperture 8 for holding the pane of glass or other material or its substitute in place. Reference character 11 designates the pane of glass or its substitute. These last mentioned members are preferably of rectangular shape and of length equal substantially to the internal width of the front wall. They are inserted and withdrawn through a slit 12 in an end or side wall 13, the slit 12 being of sufficient length to permit their in sertion, the lower end 14 of the slit, however, being located above the normal location of the lower edge of the pane of glass or its substitute when in position. The top of the slit 15 is of course therefore slightly higher than the normal position of the upper edge of these members.

The pane of glass or its substitute may be positioned by merely sliding through the slit until it is wholly within the container when it will drop into place and be held against inadvertent displacement by the portion 16 of the side wall 13 located beneath the slit.

lVhen the container is packed at the bakery the non-breakable substitutes for the pane of glass, preferably consisting of heavy cardboard or sheet metal plates, are positioned behind the aperture 8 and these substitutes remain in position until the retailer is ready to place the filled container upon his shelf or counter in display position, when by pressing inwardiy and upwardly against the substitutes on the portions exposed at the apertures and then sidewise toward the slit 12 these substitutes may be removed and panes of glass inserted in their place.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood froin the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing any of its material advantages, the form hereinbefere described being merely a preferredembodiment thereof.

I claim:

A cracker can comprising confining walls,

one of said WZIHS' being provided With an aperture, a pane of glass and a non-break:

abie inset, said pane of glass and said inset being replaceable each for the other behind said aperture, a Wall of said container being slit to perinitseasy Withdrawal and in sertion of said pane of glass and said nonbre akabie inset, and guides on opposite sides of said aperture, into which said pane of glass and said inset may be positioned and from which said pane of glass and said inset may be moved for Withdrawal from said slit.

NEWTTON E. VANCE. Witnesses:

OTTO H. BARMETCH, A. D; Seem.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Gommissioner. of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

